US Says It Destroyed ISIS Chemical Threat in Iraq

WASHINGTON — The U.S. military says it has bombed an Islamic State facility in Iraq that a senior general calls a "significant chemical threat" to Iraqi civilians.

Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Harrigian told reporters at the Pentagon on Tuesday that the target was an Islamic State headquarters also used to produce lethal chemicals, possibly including chlorine and mustard gas. Harrigian commands the Air Force element of U.S. Central Command in the Persian Gulf.

The general described the airstrike as a large operation, destroying more than 50 targets at the site with a variety of U.S. warplanes, including B-52 bombers. He said the site was formerly a pharmaceutical plant.